I love books. I was raised by two well-educated humans who were both teachers for a few or a lot of years. They were also both big bookworms.
My mother always had a novel on the go, and still does today. My father was always reading some non-fiction something-or-other.
Meanwhile, I struggled to sit still long enough to read. My mother spent years pulling her hair out trying to get me to learn.
She didn't realise that I was a highly auditory learner, and that the reason I couldn't sit still was that I was highly sensitive to all the stimuli around me, including how everyone in the family was feeling.
There was a lot that my parents were feeling that they were not saying.
But, back to the books.
Yesterday, and I went to a Book Fest. It was their yearly fundraising event where they take books that have been donated and they sell them. To people like me. Who already have too many books.
This is my bookshelf. See that tiny little collection on the very bottom shelf? They're the books I've read.
Everything else on that bookshelf, I have not read.
Yet.
I will. Eventually.
At least, that's the idea.
Meanwhile, any time I'm in an op shop or at a book fest - wherever there's an opportunity to get a bargain on books, that I think I might read, one day - I seem compelled to buy even more.
And while I do find fiction much easier to read than non-fiction, the stories from my own life have become pretty interesting these days that I don't feel that drawn to read about other people's lives.
Could I learn something? Sure! But I could also learn something by reading any or all of these...
If you look closely at these, you'll probably be able to work out what I'm most motivated to learn about. The main theme appears to be "growth".
How to improve my emotional well-being, physical well-being, mental acuity, financial well-being, and just generally become a better person.